Overview of Selected Steinbeck Archives

It was my pleasure to be in attendance at the conference “Steinbeck and the Politics of Crisis: Ethics, Society, and Ecology” presented by The John Steinbeck Society of America and held at San Jose State University in May 2013. It was certainly my privilege to be one of the presenters for the session “Catalogue of Steinbeck Archivists.” What follows is an overview of this session comprising an introduction to the information found in the archives represented—Stanford Special Collections, Monterey Public Library, National Steinbeck Center, Special Collections Ball State Libraries, and Center for Steinbeck Studies at San Jose State. A listing of items of interest and contact information for each collection is included.

The Monterey Public Library

http://www.monterey.org/library/Home.aspx

Dennis Copeland, Copeland@monterey.org

The City of Monterey California’s first public library was established in 1849 and has “two stories to tell.” One story is the relationship of John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts, the other that of the Pacific Biological Labs, its members and history. These archives contain the oral histories of people who knew Ed Ricketts, along with material of the club members who took over the lab. Because it gives us a glimpse of the club’s effect, some think that the idea of the Monterey Jazz Festival was born here. This is an enduring legacy on its own, as Monterey celebrated the 56th annual Jazz Festival this past September.

The California History Room Archives and the clipping file found here are most frequently used by researchers and visitors. Monterey Public Library does hold many unique papers on the preparations for the Sea of Cortez expedition—including travel permits, a letter for the trip from John Steinbeck to the Mexican Ambassador, specimen cards, and “most unique” is the Ricketts correspondence with Jack Calvin, the co-author of Between Pacific Tides. Also of interest are the Wing Chong Company papers, especially since the Wing Chong grocery is the model for Lee Chong’s store in Cannery Row.

At The Museum and Cultural Arts, the second repository found here, visitors can see the work of The William Johnk Cannery Row Model Research. Each building on Cannery Row was meticulously researched to create the models on display, paying particular attention to Pacific Biological, Ed Ricketts’s Lab. Here you can find the “Frog permit issued by Fish & Game to collectors,” leading to the possible foundation for Steinbeck’s frog hunt story. These collectors, referred to as “the boys,” were hired by Ricketts. Correspondence tells how the “collectors took too many frogs, and how one collector got drunk and fell into the river.”

Rare photos include one of James Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, and Ed Ricketts dressed as “music nerds,” a photo of the original lab, and a photo of the desk that Ricketts had mounted on the deck of the Western Flyer.

To see the catalog of the Steinbeck-and-Ricketts-related collections, select “Reference” from the menu at the top of the page, and then select archives in the pull down menu. You will find catalog links to John Steinbeck, Jack Calvin, Pacific Biological Labs records of correspondence and other information on the Ricketts family.

Stanford Special Collections

www-sul.stanford.edu/

http://lib.stanford.edu/miller-library-marine-biology

http://edricketts.stanford.edu./

Don Kohrs has been with Stanford Special Collections for more than four years and brings a background in biology to Stanford University’s Miller Library at Hopkins Marine Station, a marine laboratory founded in 1892. It is located in Pacific Grove, California, on the Monterey Peninsula, adjacent to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, ninety miles south of the university’s main campus. Home to nine research laboratories and a fluctuating population of graduate and undergraduate students, it has also been used for archaeological exploration, including that of the Chinese-American fishing village that existed on the site before being burnt down.

Ed Ricketts was the focus of this presentation, and this collection gives us a look at Ricketts as a scientist. Don told the story of discovering books with “Gift of Ed Ricketts” labels found in volumes throughout the collection...